


campaign trail

by deuteroscopies



Series: the prophet and the king [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abandonment, Demonic Possession, M/M, Public Blow Jobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21533863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deuteroscopies/pseuds/deuteroscopies
Summary: Ephram throws his hat into the ring to become Sheriff, but there's still binding the demon to be settled. Freddie tells Ephram that he's a bad, bad man.
Relationships: Freddie Watts/Ephram Pettaline
Series: the prophet and the king [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551673





	campaign trail

**Author's Note:**

> > Freddie Watts = Tom Hardy FC, Ephram Pettaline = Boyd Holbrook FC. These stories are set in the supernatural town of Soapberry Springs, in the Pacific Northwest. Freddie is a fairy con man from London, with cobalt-coloured dragonfly wings and silver fairy dust, who has a Japanese Chin familiar named Oliver; Ephram is a witch from impoverished East Kentucky who shares his body with a demon called Anaxis and has green magic of his own.
>> 
>> [the prophet and the king 'verse tumblr](http://theprophetandtheking.tumblr.com/)  
> 

[FREDDIE TXT] I just saw your name in the newspaper, sweetheart.

///  
  
[EPHRAM TXT] You did!!!!!!  
  
[TXT] I kinda made a fast decision on it. I mean I thought about it before I threw my hat in the ring, but I didn’t wanna run it past nobody in case I got cold feet.  
  
[TXT] You think I’d make a good lawman?  
  
[TXT] Obviously considering my own activities I ain’t gonna be a stickler lol

///

  
[FREDDIE TXT] I did! I was rather surprised, I’ll admit- but I think you’ll make a wonderful sheriff, darling. <3  
  
[TXT] This place needs someone with it’s best interests in mind.  
  
[TXT] Though I’m very glad t hear you’re planning on remaining…relaxed, shall we say, when it comes to certain things. ;) lol  
  
[TXT] So what happens now? Has the campaign begun?

///

  
[EPHRAM TXT] Oh good. I ain’t never been much of a leader-type but this, I think I could do real well. And you know a lot about the world so if you think so too darlin then I reckon I got a shot at it <3  
  
[TXT] I’m pretty far involved with this town, yeah. Sheriff Sharma before he sacrificed himself was dedicated but the poor feller just didn’t know how to deal with people. He always seemed more seal than human God rest his soul.  
  
[TXT] Heh I’m gonna have to figure out what to do with the “special delivery” items in my shipping business. You feel like taking over, baby? :)  
  
[TXT] I don’t rightly know. I reckon I best come up with a profile like them other candidates done.  
  
[TXT] Do I seem excited bcuz Freddie I am REAL FUCKING EXCITED

///

  
[FREDDIE TXT] You have more than a shot. You’ll be brilliant. And I’ll help any way that I can. Will I need to stand behind you on the podium and smile? ;)  
  
[TXT] That’s one thing you don’t need to worry about, my darling. You’re very human in all the best ways. <3  
  
[TXT] Really, love? You’d want me to? I’m honored. You’ll just have to walk me through the ins and outs. :) As long as you’re sure your ‘vendors’ won’t mind a change in personnel?  
  
[TXT] You most certainly should. The sooner, the better. People need to see what a real sheriff looks like before they go throwing their support behind one of those muppets.  
  
[TXT] You sound like you’re nearly vibrating. lol Which is why I can’t wait to see you in person. :)

///

  
[EPHRAM TXT] Brilliant wow. Nobody’s ever said that about me before. :) And yeah you're gonna have to get done up all fancy and look devastatingly attractive in case I don’t know how to answer a question  
  
[TXT] I’m pretty human yeah. I mean I only found out I was a witch like five years ago, so I still don’t automatically think of myself that way. You were born a fairy? How does it work for you?  
  
[TXT] I would LOVE IT if you took over!! I’m trying to get the accounting stuff all cleaned up and straightened out, and then you’d be able to run it smooth as silk I’m pretty damn sure. So long as you don’t mind working with Iann Cardero. Weird guy, owns a magic shop?  
  
[TXT] Nah we won’t lose any customers, not with your golden touch :)  
  
[TXT] Okay I’ll get on that then. I reckon I should plan out my appointment platform and why I’d be better than them other three. Ain’t seen nobody else join the race yet tho it’s still early on that one.  
  
[TXT] You’re so great. Say there’s this exhibition thing in the Soapberry Visitor Center about body art and how to do it on supernaturals, you wanna go see it with me? That way I can hold your hand while we talk!

///

  
[FREDDIE TXT] They haven’t? Then people have been shortchanging you for years, darling. And I think devastatingly attractive is well within our means. ;) Maybe a little shopping is in order too, yeah? ]Something to suit your political aspirations?  
  
[TXT] Only five years ago? I assumed you were born aware of your power, love. Though, as you say, I was born what I am, so perhaps that’s my own experience leading me there. I don’t really have any experience of being raised a fairy though. I was raised by an atronach, really; and what she didn’t know, I muddled out on my own.  
  
[TXT] Then I will. :) I have to warn you though, sweetheart, I don’t really have any experience running an actual business. Most of my acumen comes from…let’s call it ‘the field’, shall we? lol  
  
[TXT] And I have no problem at all working with Iann Cardero. We get on rather well, as a matter of fact.  
  
[TXT] Flattery will get you everywhere. <3  
  
[TXT] I would imagine the key is focus. Choose a few issues closest to the constituents hearts and build from there.  
  
[TXT] I’d love to. Holding your hand isn’t something I have any intention of turning down anytime it’s offered. :)

///

  
[EPHRAM TXT] When you say shopping it means you’re gonna pick out what I should wear right? Because I tell you right now Freddie if you leave me to my own devices I’m gonna end up in cowboy boots and a JC Penney shirt to go with it  
  
[TXT] Naw there ain’t been any witches in my family since the Civil War. They gave it all up to get my great-great-grandpaw Inman free of Anaxis. Mine started kicking in when I was around fourteen but I didn’t know what it was so I just figured I should pray more. That’s around when Anaxis started talking to me too.  
  
[TXT] You were raised by an atronach? Is she in England? What happened to your parents? Also you don’t need to answer any of this if it’s too hard to handle. <3  
  
[TXT] heading to the place now

///

[FREDDIE TXT] As fetching as you look in jeans, and boots and whatever else, darling - and you do, believe me - you’re right, me picking things out for you is what I was offering. If you don’t mind, of course. I rather like the idea of watching you get fitted for a suit.  
  
[TXT] My God. That must have been terrifying. And please, forgive me if this is a stupid question, love, but…if they gave up their power to purge the demon, however did it manage to come back?  
  
[TXT] It’s not too hard. If you want to know, then I’m happy to tell you. <3 So yes, I was raised by an atronach. Until I was eight, anyway. That’s when my father fired her and I was sent away to school. I honestly have no idea where she is now. Same with my mother. She left when I was two, and I never heard tell of her since. Fairies, you see, aren’t very well-suited to parenthood. And my father, to the best of my knowledge, is still in in the same place he’s always been. I haven’t seen him in 22 years.  
  
[TXT] See you soon.

* * *

  
  
It was completely silly that Ephram’s heart was beating so fast at the prospect of meeting Freddie at the exhibit (although at least part of that was how fast he walked there, he had to admit) but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. After this last go-round with the demon, Ephram was doggedly throwing himself wholesale into enjoying Freddie as much as he could, resisting none of his impulses when it came to them.  
  
So when he saw Freddie arriving, Ephram loped the few steps between them and wrapped one arm tight against the fairy’s back, stroking the joint of one wing and holding Freddie’s hip as he kissed him. “You know Iann, huh?” Ephram grinned. “Good, because he’s gonna be your partner when you take over the business.”  
  
Once he’d arrived, Freddie had barely had any time to even look for Ephram before the witch had found him first and pulled him in for a kiss - one that Freddie sighed happily into; his eyes fluttering closed briefly as Ephram rubbed his wing, his other large hand warm on Freddie’s hip. “Hello, love,” he murmured; and then he chuckled when Ephram mentioned Iann, nodding his head. “I do,” he confirmed, “-and that works out rather well, because we’ve already agreed to do a little job together independently.”  
  
“He’s quite an interesting fellow, our Mr. Cardero. I like him.” Freddie looked at Ephram fondly, “Hard not to really, when he’s already done me quite a favor in taking care of you.”  
  
Ephram paused, staring at Freddie. “Oh gosh, honey,” he said wondrously. “I’m startin’ to think you got a halo stashed away somewheres to go with them wings of yours. How d’you always have such nice things to say to me?”  
  
He didn’t intend the statement in a self-pitying way; it was just that Ephram wasn’t accustomed to having adoration lavished on him. And Freddie offered it with such ease and sincerity, as if it was his pleasure to be saying these things. Linking his hand in Freddie’s, Ephram started to wander towards the exhibit, his mood softened slightly as he let the idea of having this man in his life, loving him in such an … uninhibited way. Vocally and physically.  
  
“Are you … you think you’d wanna go see him? Your dad?” What did Freddie’s parents look like, Ephram wondered. Maybe he only looked superficially like them. Maybe he looked more like the atronach woman who’d raised him for that short time, who Ephram got the feeling nurtured Freddie more than he’d experienced in the rest of his life. The thought was an awful one, and he kissed Freddie’s temple before continuing, “Not to say you should, or nothing. Everybody’s got their own way of dealing with shit.”  
  
He stopped to look at a colouration on a mermaid’s tail, saying, “They could never actually destroy Anaxis, it being an immortal demon at all. The reason the Pettaline witches gave up their magic was so Anaxis wouldn’t bother with any of em, being human as they was. So then when I came along with the first sparks of magic in generations, it drew the demon’s attention again.” He shrugged, smiling at Freddie. “Ancient history. It was really terrifying when it was happening, you’re right, but lucky for me there was always so much else going on in my life that it just kinda blended in with the rest.”  
  
Freddie laughed softly at the idea of himself as angelic, and shook his head. “I have nice things to say to you, love, because I find you absolutely dazzling; and as such, I have a very vested interest in making you smile.” He squeezed Ephram’s hand as they walked. “Unless you feel it’s too much? Subtlety isn’t something that comes naturally to me, but I can try, if you’d like me to.”  
  
Looking around at the various booths, he was about to ask Ephram if there was anything specific he was interested in seeing first, or if they should just take their time completing the circuit, when suddenly Ephram asked about his father, and Freddie felt his eyes widen slightly; having forgotten momentarily - in the wake of the witch’s actual presence at his side - that they’d been discussing Freddie’s family via text.  
  
Freddie shook his head again when he remembered, smiling at Ephram’s gentle kiss to his temple. “Oh, no, darling,” he said, “-I don’t think I was very clear before; I’m sorry. My father wants nothing to do with me. He never has; even when I was small. He’s human - and a miserable cunt - and after my mother left, he didn’t have any use for me. No longer a fan of fairies, as I’m sure you can imagine. He cut me off when I finished school. If I turned up on his doorstep now, the old bastard would probably set the dogs on me.”  
  
He listened when they stopped, a little horrified, as Ephram explained the Pettalines’ history with the demon, lifting Ephram’s hand to his lips and kissing his knuckles once as he processed the information. “Ephram, sweetheart, if there’s so much happening in your life that a _demon’s voice_ in your head goes unnoticed, then something has gone _very_ wrong somewhere…”  
  
Freddie stopped, and just looked at him a little in awe. “So how are you as lovely as you are then? I mean, honestly, you’re…” He smiled gently, leaning up to brush Ephram’s lips with his own. “You amaze me.”  
  
“And you’re clearly much more powerful than you think you are.”  
  
“Mmmmm.” Ephram nudged against Freddie. “Don’t stop, I like how unsubtle you are. It’s right up my alley, honey.” His grip on Freddie’s hand got tighter when the fairy went into greater detail about his family, his human asshole of a father, his disownment and estrangement. “I can’t think of anybody being so cruel to you,” Ephram murmured. “I got problems with my daddy too but Jesus, Freddie. Yours sounds like a damn peckerwood, if you don’t mind me saying.” Freddie had obviously dealt with this himself on his own time, since he didn’t seem visibly upset, but Ephram was rattled by it.  
  
He didn’t press further, though, especially since Freddie seemed likewise disturbed by Ephram’s own Kentucky childhood. “Reckon we both had things sort of rough as kids, huh?” Ephram said. When Freddie turned to kiss him, Ephram looped his arms around the man’s neck, nosing against him once their lips parted. “I got my sharp edges,” he murmured. “Just like you do. But you’re lovely too, honey. If you never had nobody around to tell you that before, well – I ain’t planning on stopping anytime soon.”  
  
They moved onward to the next display, scarification on a werewolf’s belly, and Ephram grunted softly as he leaned in to look closer. “Maybe my magic does work in ways I ain’t conscious of,” he allowed, instead of instantly disparaging his powers the way he’d grown accustomed to doing. “I gotta…” Ephram straightened up again, his face set, determined. “Iann gave me the–” he lifted his hand to touch his forehead and the pink grease-pencil mark there, keeping the demon subdued, “–and I bet he talked to you about it. His main concern is not allowing the demon to come to the fore again and that’s good, that should be his main concern. So I’m gonna … I’m gonna get it branded on me. Right by my hip, I reckon, so when you buy me this fancy expensive tailored suit you mentioned I won’t be matching my tie to my pink forehead rune.”  
  
Ephram laughed after this announcement, and although there wasn’t any fear or distress in the sound, there was a slight trepidation lacing the edges.  
  
Freddie laughed softly at Ephram’s assessment of his father as a ‘peckerwood’, and nodded his head. “That’s a remarkably apt description, actually, sweetheart. Thank-you.” He was touched that Ephram was upset on his behalf, warmed that his witch could care so much - his experience of being genuinely cared for still so new that he couldn’t help but be taken aback sometimes by its evidence - and for a moment, he allowed himself to really _think_ on his childhood, dredging up feelings he’d long since packed away as irrelevant. Freddie shrugged slightly, “I don’t know as I can say he was _cruel_ to me, though - not really. He just…didn’t care enough to bother.”  
  
“Which was one of the last things my parents still had in common,” he said, with a smile that even he knew didn’t quite reach his eyes. Freddie looked at Ephram with a muted sort of apologetic chagrin. “Some of us are just very difficult to love, is all. Nothing to be done for it.”  
  
But when Ephram pulled him close, murmuring his intent to stay close for the foreseeable future, Freddie slipped his arms around him and held tight until the sudden ache in his chest ebbed away. “Thank-you, love,” he said again, his voice a little rougher than it should have been, “-and the same goes.” He looked Ephram in the eye. “I’m here for as long as you want me.”  
  
He got himself under control again as they moved on to the next exhibit, internally stuffing all his messy, little boy pain back into the appropriate boxes, his thumb stroking Ephram’s hand as they walked. And when Ephram began to explain about the ward - and the brand - Freddie just listened intently. “He did, yeah…” he said finally, meeting his witch’s eyes, “-and I think he’s right. That ward on its own doesn’t protect you like it should. It’s too open to chance, darling; leaves you too vulnerable…”  
  
He sighed. “But I hate that have to be hurt to helped.” Reaching up to touch Ephram’s face gently, Freddie went on, “I’d like to be there though, if you’ll let me.” Freddie looked at Ephram seriously. “In case you need me; yeah?”  
  
“Baby,” Ephram said tenderly, “a parent ignoring their own child is cruelty.” It wasn’t exactly the most pretty of things to talk about, but Ephram hoped that Freddie wouldn’t find it upsetting enough to cut the conversation or their outing short. In the time they’d known each other Freddie seemed to digest everything that got thrown at him and come up golden, but Ephram didn’t want to force him into putting a good face over any sort of distress the subject would cause. It was early days still but Ephram felt that the two of them had vaulted over the pretending-to-be-okay stage. “And it ain’t your fault your parents were hard to love.”  
  
It didn’t even occur to Ephram that Freddie might have been referring to his perception of _himself._ Considering how quickly he’d gone head-over-heels for the man, it didn’t at all fit Ephram’s idea of Freddie. “It’s okay,” he reassured Freddie, leaning eagerly into the caress. “I’d rather go through being sore for a spell rather than take a chance on Anaxis. Don’t you worry bout me, sugarplum–” Ephram held up his hands, palm-up, to show the streaks of knotted skin there, “–any good moonshiner worth their spirits can weather a few lil burns.”  
  
He moved closer to Freddie, resting his forehead on the fairy’s broad shoulder. “It’ll be awright,” Ephram said, his fingertips skimming down Freddie’s sides, snagging into his shirt. “I’m getting a friend, a witch friend, to do it -- and since we’re doing it with magic, it’s probably best it’s just the two of us. But I’ll come right straight home to you after. I’ll need you then. A lot."  
  
Freddie laughed, soft and a little uncharacteristically self-conscious; though he banished that as quickly as he noticed it. He knew himself far too well to allow that sort of nonsense. “Well, my experience of parents is rather limited,” he murmured around a chuckle, “-so I suppose I’m not really the best judge,” realizing suddenly that this was the most he could remember ever speaking about his family - or lack there of - with anyone.  
  
He remembered babbling childhood confusion with Bahraman, of course - forgetting himself and calling her Mum when he was very small, and her gentle explanations to the contrary - but once she was gone, that was it. He’d closed the book on anything more personal than a statement of fact where his parents were concerned. Just the basics; no more, no less. And maybe a casual joke about the whole thing to show how little he cared. But that was all.  
  
And as such, it felt strange to discuss them now… but it was somehow oddly welcome too. Perhaps because it was Ephram asking. Because Ephram cared enough to _ask_.  
  
And to call him things like _honey_ , and _baby_ \- and mean them - while he did it.  
  
Freddie’s eyes widened slightly when he realized Ephram had misunderstood him, and he shook his head, leaning up to brush their lips together again. “I didn’t mean _them_ , love,” he said simply, before shifting his attention to other, more important, things.  
  
He nodded when Ephram said he didn’t want to take any chances, knowing he was right, and that was the only position to take; but he took Ephram’s hands anyway and kissed his palms, one and then the other. “I know,” he said, offering a smile to show that the witch’s reassurance had been received and appreciated, “-but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” But his smiled dimmed again, when Ephram told him it was best that he not be there for the branding.  
  
“If you’re sure, darling,” he said finally, “I mean, you know best when it comes to this sort of magic, but…” Freddie sighed, realizing it wasn’t his place to second guess these things. No matter how much he wanted to wheedle until he got his own way. “Alright,” he conceded, “-but as soon as it’s done, you come to me. Not a moment later, Ephram. Promise me.”  
  
“What about Iann though?” Freddie asked once they’d begun walking again, his arm around Ephram’s waist, “I thought he was doing the branding? He rather thinks he’s doing the branding, too, if I’m not mistaken…”  
  
Family and kinfolk was such a natural topic to Ephram, even the worst and rawest parts of it, that he hardly thought anything of talking quite freely about even traumatic aspects of growing up. That was the way he approached discussing Freddie’s family with him, so even thought the other man was gearing down from it, Ephram just had more and more questions. “No, well, I mean–” he began, “–it ain’t like you had to meet some requirement of time spent to know whether or not your folks being indifferent was painful or not. And on their side of it they neglected and downright abandoned you, so they’re sure as shit at fault for that, honey.”  
  
He kissed back almost distractedly when Freddie gave him that feathery-sweet little kiss, continuing, “That don’t make sense at all now, darlin’. Why would you say….” Ephram trailed off as he parsed what Freddie was saying, and even though the fairy moved on, even as he kissed Ephram’s palms the witch looked at him frowning and concerned. “You listen to me, Freddie Watts,” Ephram said, his voice gravelly and low with emotion, a tinge of anger. “You listen to me and don’t you dare fuckin’ argue with me when I’m done. There ain’t nothin’ about you that’s unlovable. Jesus Christ, right now as an adult you're full of charm and warmth like you got a PhD in it, so there ain’t no way on God’s green earth that you wasn’t a sweet lil mite back when you had your innocence. And I ain’t saying you’re perfect or some sinless saint, I’m saying you _deserved_ to be loved then and you deserve it now, and it makes my blood boil to think your parents didn’t care for you like they should have.”  
  
It was a long, impassioned speech, and Ephram was left ruddy in the face from it, lifting his hands to clasp his fairy’s face and kiss him, over and over, fiercely. The feel of those lips, swollen and tempting as ripe fruit, soothed Ephram’s ruffled agitation some, and Ephram nodded seriously and said, “I absolutely promise, you can count on it. Once it’s done you’re gonna be all I want.” He smiled crookedly and added, “–so’s you can take care of me and coddle me while I whine like a creaky gate.”  
  
The comment about Iann was out of the blue, though, and Ephram raised his eyebrows in surprise. “He thought he’d be doing it? Well now that’s something I didn’t expect. Iann’s sure pulling out the stops this time.” It was a bolstering thought, that Iann was determined to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks. “I’ll let him know that I got it covered. Good thing you told me or he’d be mighty pissed I let him go through the work of making a brand!”  
  
Slightly taken aback by the force behind Ephram’s words, the raw emotion there - for him; on his behalf - Freddie just stood there, watching his witch with a kind of painful, lovestruck awe…and then did exactly as he was told.  
  
When Ephram was finished, Freddie didn’t argue. He’d been effectively rendered mute; moved by what Ephram had said, and aroused by the way he’d said it.  
  
And even if he could have found the words in that moment to express some semblance of what he was feeling, they would have been lost to Ephram’s kisses. Freddie yielded to him immediately, just allowing himself to enjoy the feeling of being devoured, then kissed him back equally fiercely; staying close when Ephram finally pulled away again, hoping his body had made his feelings understood.  
  
Then he took Ephram’s hand again and slotted their fingers together. “Believe me, I’m no sheriff, love,” he smiled. “I’m actually looking at the right man for the job now, as a matter of fact, and I would be a pale imitation in his place.”  
  
“Besides,” he grinned, “-I’m rather looking forward to being the plaything of a powerful man. Because they’ll give you an office after you’re elected, won’t they? With a nice big desk we can break in?”  
  
His smile softened again though, at the thought of taking care of Ephram. “You can whinge as much as you like, darling,” he murmured, “I think you’ve rather earned it.”  
  
“Though…” Freddie went on, talking out the ideas turning through his mind, “-and forgive me if I’m not understanding something fundamental about witch magic - mightn’t it be a good idea to do both? A magical brand, and a metal one? Just to be safe?” Freddie looked at Ephram tenderly, “The last thing I want is for you to suffer needlessly, sweetheart; but given everything that’s happened here recently…isn’t that a precaution we should think about?”  
  
“I mean…my wings _disappeared_ , love. Wings that have been a part of my body since the womb were just snuffed out of existence… Couldn’t the same thing happen with your brand if whatever happened before was repeated?”  
  
“I just don’t want to take any chances, Ephram. Not with you.”  
  
He’d said what he wanted about Freddie’s neglectful parents, so Ephram was fine with wrapping up that topic. He’d return to it again, but for now he’d made his opinion clear and maybe Freddie might need some time to mull it over. From the way he’d held Ephram afterwards, the urgent press of his kisses and his body, the witch was pretty sure that Freddie wasn’t mad at him.  
  
“Ohhh, so you’re into the whole law-and-order thing, huh?” Ephram laughed warmly, his free thumb digging past Freddie’s belt and trousers to tuck against his fairy’s hip. “Don’t you worry, sweetpea – if I get this gig, I’ll do the whole handcuff and strip-search routine on you. With a stop at my desk before the jail cell, yessir.” Saying that was strange, given that Ephram had always been on the wrong side of law enforcement before, but it gave him an excited thrill in his belly to think of it. And Freddie’s easy agreement to take care of Ephram when he needed it just added to the anticipation.  
  
Ephram had never planned much for his life. If there was any true lesson that had sunk into him soft and permeating as cooking oil, it was that you could never plan on anything staying constant. Any moves you made towards setting up your future would inevitably be derailed, and if you were _very_ lucky there’d be somebody there to hold you and tell you it would all be okay. But more often, there was nobody. Everybody had their own problems. You couldn’t fault them.  
  
He blinked at what Freddie was saying, pointing out a possible weakness in Ephram’s decision to go magic-only. “Yeaaaaah,” Ephram acknowledged, a sulkiness to his voice. “You probably got a point there, Freddie. Double-sealing the thing would add an extra barrier to Anaxis getting out. Like it was sealed up in a damn Ziploc bag.” Ephram tugged Freddie over to a bench and pulled him to sit down.

“For you, darling,” Freddie smiled, enjoying the familiarity of Ephram’s hands on him, the easy liberty taken as his witch’s thumb found its way under his clothes in search of skin, “-I might even go quietly. Though I will expect regular conjugal visits, if you want me to be a model prisoner.”  
  
He frowned slightly though when he heard the tone of Ephram’s voice change after he’d suggested the additional brand, unsure if he’d overstepped his bounds somehow. If he’d assumed more standing than he had yet. “It’s up to you, of course, love,” he said softly, as Ephram maneuvered him over to a bench and sat them down, “I didn’t mean to presume…”  
  
“It’s kinda all jammed up for me in my head, this demon business,” he began. “I ain’t used to having any say-so when it comes to Anaxis. So maybe I’m kinda going overboard now that I _do_ have a hand in it?” Ephram made a frustrated noise, knees dovetailed against Freddie’s where they sat. “For once I got these people I care for wanting to be around and support me through this, but all of me keeps straining to do it all myself.” He shook his head, some of the resigned weariness that had always accompanied Anaxis’ existence, his having to deal with it alone, showing on his face. “And then I can’t stop worrying that maybe it’s the demon _itself_ making me all muddled up.” Ephram screwed his mouth to the side. And then he said, “…would you wanna have a house with me? Where we could be together but come and go as we want?”  
  
Freddie went quiet when Ephram started to speak, just listening, his hand sliding over to rest on Ephram’s thigh as he did, before finally offering up an opinion. “I do understand, love,” he said, rubbing the worn denim of Ephram’s jeans with his thumb, “-how hard it is when you suddenly have control, after what feels like eons of having none at all, to give it up again. Even to people you trust. Believe me, I do. But… in this case? I promise you, sweetheart, we all just want to keep you safe.”  
  
Freddie smiled gently, “And some of us, very selfishly, simply can’t bear the thought of being without you.”  
  
“I trust your judgment though, darling. When it comes to the demon, there’s only one expert, and you’re him. So whatever you say, that’s what we’ll do. All of us.”  
  
The last thing in the world Freddie expected for Ephram to say next was to ask him if he wanted to live with him, and when it happened, the fairy just sat there, dumbstruck again, staring. “I…” he started, then cut himself off, his silver tongue suddenly heavy in his mouth. “Do you mean that?” he asked, looking Ephram in the eye, a childlike hope leaping in his chest that both embarrassed and frightened him. “Honestly?”  
  
“I mean it, honest. With all my heart.” Ephram reached up and cupped Freddie’s face, dragging his thumb over that sensuous mouth for once soft and slackened and caught off-guard. How could that even happen, with Freddie? Worldly, whip-smart, perpetually collected Freddie? Ephram gave a rumble of want, confessing as he brushed his lips against the corner of Freddie’s mouth, “…I been thinking of getting a place, a house and all I could think about was having you there with me. Imaginarily decorating the place with highboys and curtains and my Freddie.” He smiled, adding, “You’re real decorative, honey,” before sinking into a slow, deep kiss, making small noises into Freddie’s mouth.  
  
It was hard to stop, and Ephram didn’t pull back much. “And … I want you to be in control, when it comes to me. Just like I’ll be for you, that kind of control that ain’t about telling each other what to do, more like caring enough to cut through all the confusion.” Ephram looked down, pressing his palms against the sides of Freddie’s neck, the caps of his shoulders, the rise of his pectorals under his shirt, as if this were some sort of ritualistic promise he was making. “I trust you to want me to be safe and happy and healthy, even if I can’t see my own way to it clear.” Ephram took a deep breath, his expression getting firm as he looked back at Freddie. “Magic, then the iron brand. So’s it finishes everything off. Magic to go down to my bones, and fire to seal it in.”  
  
Despite the resolute sound to Ephram’s voice, when he’d finished saying it aloud, he bit down on the inside of his lip and then leaned forward, resting his forehead against the juncture of Freddie’s neck. “I know what it is to keep hold of yourself even when the pain seems like too much,” Ephram murmured, fingertips curling against the fairy’s collarbones, “but this ain’t gonna be like scrapping with the other fellers in a honkytonk parking lot or keeping quiet when one of the other inmates at Ashland got hold of me. It’s a whole nother level. I’m scared, Freddie. I trust you all but Jesus Christ, I don’t trust _myself_ to see it through to the end.” Ephram spat out the last sentence, his mouth twisted bitterly: “–just gonna turn coward and fuck it all up.”  
  
It wasn’t really fair to do this to Freddie, Ephram knew. They’d hardly had a month of knowing each other and here he was whining all over the man. And yet, he shifted the heel of his hand so it lay over Freddie’s heart, turned his head so the long tip of his nose dragged up to poke against the hinge of Freddie’s strong jaw.  
  
Freddie kissed at Ephram’s thumb as it traveled across his lips - second-nature now to kiss any part of Ephram that he could reach; an impulse he had no desire to curb or control - sighing softly, his mouth curving into a smile when the witch leaned close again, kissing him gently.  
  
Ephram explained about the house, about how he wanted Freddie in it - wanted Freddie _with him_ \- and the fairy listened in amazement, unsure of how to put his feelings into words. He was overwhelmed - by love, and gratitude, and no small amount of fear - but he already knew that he was going to say yes.  
  
To his way of thinking, he’d never actually had a home before - Christ knew his father’s house had never been his home - and the idea of it, with Ephram, just…  
  
When Freddie remembered how to speak, ‘yes’ was going to be the first thing out of his mouth.  
  
And then Ephram was kissing him - long, and slow, and deep; the kind of claiming kiss that stole Freddie’s breath, and set his nerves alight - and everything else in the world was forced to take a backseat for a moment.  
  
Ephram knew how to make the world stop spinning.  
  
When his witch pulled back again, just far enough for them to look each other in the eye, Freddie was prepared to say what he needed to say; but when Ephram started talking - about what he wanted them to have, and to share; about the brands and his fears; his past - his head resting on the curve of Freddie’s neck and shoulder, one hand warm and welcome over Freddie’s heart, the fairy just slipped his arms around him, and held him tightly.  
  
‘Yes’ on its own simply wasn’t going to suffice.  
  
“First off,” Freddie breathed, “-you’re not a coward. Anyone can see that, love. They can feel it when they’re close to you. And you’re not going to fuck anything up. We’re going to get through this - I'm going to see you through this - and that’s all there is to it.”  
  
He sighed, thinking of what the phrase ‘ _when the other inmates got hold of me_ ’ might mean, afraid that he already knew… before deciding not to push Ephram for anything more specific. Not now. “But I’m not going to tell you not to be scared, sweetheart. Anyone facing what you’re facing would be. Pain is frightening.” He covered Ephram’s hand, where it was resting on his chest, with his own, and squeezed it. “All I can do is tell you that I’ll be there - and I’ll be holding you through it all.”  
  
Freddie went quiet again for a moment, then turned his head to get a better look at Ephram, and murmured, almost shyly, “And the answer’s yes, by the way.”  
  
“If you will have me, then yes; I’d like a house very much.”  
  
Lifting his head, Ephram met Freddie’s eyes, saw the trepidation rimming the edges of them even though he was saying yes and sounding as though he’d never said so much _yes_ to anything before in his life. “’ _By the way_ ’, he says,” Ephram murmured, adoration threaded through his voice. “ _By the way_ , as if this ain’t one of the best things to happen in both our lives.” That much, Ephram was certain of, could speak for the both of them, make that assumption.  
  
He ran his hand over Freddie’s hair, the silky brushiness of it against his palm making him shudder in delight, and hung on to the back of his neck. “I think,” Ephram said, his thumb slowly rubbing the ridge at the base of Freddie’s skull. “I think now, after what you and me been through, we need it. I think with what we felt right away, it ain’t rushing things to get a place for us together. I don’t wanna clip them pretty wings of yours now, Freddie, we can continue on as we've been, since I like to roam a little my own self,” Ephram kissed Freddie lightly, smiling against his mouth. “But Jesus, Freddie. I need somewheres I can be with you all I want. So fuckin’ greedy for you.”  
  
It wasn’t much of a confession. Ephram knew he hadn’t been very subtle about how much he wanted Freddie, how much he was enchanted by this man and his gracious, confident manner, his compassion, the way he seemed to know exactly the right thing to do in every situation. The way Freddie seemed to be as mercurial as Ephram was when it came to taking charge or giving in. “Sometimes,” Ephram said slowly and deliberately, “I can hardly believe we found each other how we did, hooking up on the docks. I feel like you should of been delivered to me on, I dunno, some kinda shining cloud with gold beams radiating everywhere and a heavenly chorus.” He snorted, knowing that Freddie would find this a highly hilarious idea, and stood up again with his fingers linked through Freddie’s. “I know, I know, it sounds chintzy as hell, but darlin’ – you make me feel blessed.”  
  
Ephram wrapped his arm around Freddie’s waist and steered them towards photographs of an atronach’s chiselled-in tattoos. “So,” he said more cheerfully, “you better start thinking bout if you wanna rename the shipping company. I never changed it from Hippios Shipping on account of nothin’ but good ol’ fashioned laziness, but you can give it something with flair, right? Some super-clever catchy name.”  
  
“You could never clip my wings, darling,” Freddie murmured, a smile hanging on his lips as Ephram kissed them, meeting the witch’s own, “All you do is take me higher. Actual flying pales in comparison to just being close enough to make you smile.”  
  
“So be greedy, love,” he breathed, taking another kiss, and then one more for good measure. “Please. Because I certainly intend to be.”  
  
In all honesty, Freddie had spent a large portion of his adult life quite happy - high on success, and wealth, and good sex - and he’d thought that that was enough; chasing his happiness from one con to the next, in search of bigger and better hits. But nothing - not one single fucking thing he’d ever experienced - had ever brought him even remotely close to the way he felt right now.  
  
This had to be what joy - _proper_ joy; in the deepest, most powerful sense of the word - felt like, he thought. Because Freddie had absolutely nothing to compare it to.  
  
A shiver of pride rippled through him when Ephram described him as angelic; when he said that Freddie made him feel blessed, and the fairy slid his arm across Ephram’s back, tucking himself up against his side. “I think you have much more liberal policies than most when it comes to angels and blessings,” he said smiling indulgently; and then he dropped his voice to add, “-but thank-you, sweetheart. The feeling is entirely mutual.”  
  
“If memory serves though,” Freddie carried on a second later, a mischievous edge to his voice, “-I’m fairly certain I did see God at one point the night we met; so we’re not without divinity, darling. We just came across ours a little differently.”  
  
The chiseled tattoos of the atronach in the photo they were looking at putting Freddie in mind of a brand, and thus touching a nerve that didn’t need any more prodding, he tugged Ephram away again, leading him off towards what seemed, at a distance, to be a pair of vampires promoting sub-dermal implants. “I’ll do my best, Sheriff,” he smiled, knowing he’d need to come up with something perfect if he intended to make Hippios Shipping over to that extent, “-though I still can’t quite believe you want me to take over for you. I mean… I’m a bit more salesman than foreman, really, love.”  
  
“But I am a very quick study,” Freddie said, leaning up to kiss Ephram’s cheek, then teasing, “-and I promise I won’t bankrupt us if I can help it.”  
  
“But tell me more about these houses you've been looking at…” he smiled. “Will you take me to see the next one with you?”  
  
Ephram snickered at Freddie’s tease about how incredible the sex had been that first time they’d done it, down in his warehouse, and he ducked his nose against the pointed shell of Freddie’s ear in flushed pleasure, breathing in the crisp, masculine scent of Freddie’s cologne. Ephram himself made do with the bottles of Old Spice that his younger half-sister Harleen got him every year on his birthday, but Freddie's scent was sophisticated, indulgent. “Christ, you smell good,” Ephram observed, half to himself as he realized his mouth was watering. He didn’t mention _that_ part, though, how much he was thinking about sinking to his knees and undoing Freddie’s trousers; once said aloud, they’d have to find somewhere private right away. Already they hadn’t broken physical contact once since Freddie’d arrived.

“Do I?” Freddie murmured, his voice a low rumble, as he turned in towards the gentle, teasing pressure of Ephram’s nose at his ear; his witch’s breath warm and enticing, making Freddie’s cock stir in his trousers. “Good enough to eat maybe?” Then Freddie huffed out a chuckle at himself, giving Ephram a squeeze. “You do know that you make it absolutely impossible for me to be good, don’t you?” he asked, teasingly. “I’ll end up getting us tossed out of here, and what will that do for your political career, eh? You’ll be a scandal before you even get started.”  
  
Shuffling agreeably away from the atronach display, Ephram stood straighter when Freddie called him sheriff, beaming at the sound of it. “Aw, don’t you worry – we’ll get somebody to deal with all the office stuff, and then all’s you gotta do is what comes naturally. Find out what it is folks want and give it to em.” Second nature to his Freddie, from what Ephram could tell. “Although, shit–” Ephram looked at Freddie, giving an abashed laugh. “I don’t even know if this is gonna clash with all whatever else you got going on! Whatever your other job is! Unless you got like, family money or something? Fairy money?” He shook his head with a snort. “I sound like an idiot. But anyhow, baby, tell me what it is you do. I wanna know more about what you get up to when we ain’t together.” Ephram grinned wickedly, nudging his shoulder against Freddie’s. “Who else you spent the night with so far? I can’t imagine somebody as delicious as you not getting snapped up by other greedy fucks like me.”  
  
They paused at the next exhibit, one involving some incredibly complex way of embroidering fairy wing frames with fresh silk. “This house was real sweet, bright and springy, kinda with a sunflowers-and-blue-sky feel if you know what I mean. A lil old-fashioned but that never bothered me none. Although….” Ephram trailed off, holding out his wrist as a couple of volunteer werewolf girls came around to apply temporary tattoos on the visitors. “There was this weird thing up in the attic that I found. Some weird deck of like, messed-up tarot cards or something. Had two headdress thingies in it, one for … well, one for each of us.” Ephram’s gaze crested over Freddie’s skull, envisioning that avant-garde spiky circlet sitting against it. “You had a crown. And the King card.”  
  
They meandered on and Freddie smiled at the way Ephram’s posture changed when Freddie called him ‘Sheriff’, liking the way the other man stood taller and squared his shoulders, smitten by him all over again. “Thank-you, love,” he said, in relation to Ephram’s plans for Hippios and Freddie’s place there, “-I appreciate that very much. That part of the business, I can manage quite well, I think.” He listened as Ephram asked more specific questions than he had up to this point, about what Freddie did, and how he lived; and Freddie wondered briefly if this was the right time and place to get into it. But he realized almost immediately that there was no right time and place, and there never would be. Here and now, Ephram had asked; and here and now, Freddie needed to answer.  
  
A quiet corner still wouldn’t go amiss, though, the fairy thought as they stopped in front of the next exhibit. So maybe it would be best to go first things last for the time being.  
  
Deliberately sidestepping the inquiry about his work, Freddie laughed softly at Ephram’s question about who’d warmed his bed when Ephram hadn’t been there to do it himself. “Well…” he said, “-there’s been Ruby, of course, who you know. She’s been at the hotel, with a room just across the hall from mine, so we’re together rather often.”  
  
“And a woman called Elizabeth Bell,” he went on, his affection for Elizabeth evident in his voice, “She’s very special to me too.” Then he shrugged, “A nymph called Ramona, once; and another one called Perl…but other than that, I’ve been a veritable monk.” He smiled, adding one more name to the list. “And I’ve spent some time with Hana Song, as well - though she’s never actually taken me to bed.”  
  
And though he knew he didn’t need to say it, aware that Ephram understood that fidelity and devotion could be measured by more than a physical act, he turned and kissed Ephram’s neck softly, murmuring, “But the list of people I love is far, far shorter. And vastly more important.”  
  
Something warm filled his chest as he listened to Ephram describe the house he had looked at, watching as the wolf girls applied Ephram’s tattoo, a smirk tugging at his lips as they sneaked little glances at the casually demonstrative way Freddie was still pressed to Ephram’s side, tempted to lick his witch’s jaw just to give them a thrill. And when they were gone again, he wrinkled his forehead in confusion as Ephram finished his thought. “Tarot cards?” he asked, “Just two of them? That’s…very odd, sweetheart. Even if the idea of being a king appeals to me deeply.”  
  
“What sort of an impression did you get from them?” he asked, “Did it feel right, or wrong, when you saw it all?”  
  
And then, realizing that he couldn’t put it off anymore - not if they were going to discuss the house - and their future - any further, Freddie sighed and led Ephram away from the crowd, and over behind a booth that had a sign on it indicating that the proprietors would be back in an hour. “I know you asked me this earlier,” he said, “-and I acted like I hadn’t heard, but…I’d like to answer you now, love. About my job - or rather, my lack of one - since I’ve been here in Soapberry.”  
  
“You see…nothing I’ll be doing for you will interfere with anything I’ve got going on, darling. Mostly because I don’t exactly have anything going on.”  
  
“I don’t particularly need to. My family money dried up when my father cut me off, but I’m still quite comfortable. And that’s because-” Freddie moved so that he could look Ephram directly in the eye, taking his hand again, unwilling to break contact entirely, “-I’m a con man, Ephram love. I’m a thief.”  
  
“I’ve never had a honest job a day in my life.” He looked at his witch with worried eyes, “And I hope very much that that doesn’t change things between us.”  
  
Growling slightly, Ephram snapped his teeth at Freddie’s hair, fingers running up his spine to the joint of a wing as he scolded, “Now how did you know I been thinking of gobbling you up, darlin’? You’re mighty tempting. Would draw a man to sin, right here under this here Soapberry Visitor Centre seashell light fixture.” He looked up at the aforementioned fixture, a wild jangling spiral of shells and sea glass in the vague shape of a sea lion, then back at Freddie. “You’re a walking talking scandal, Freddie. I might as well defile a government building, just go all the way.”  
  
Freddie’s belief in Ephram’s candidacy for sheriff, the way that he talked about it as if the position was a done deal, it was impossible to shunt off or ignore. Every time his fairy easily wove it into the conversation like a foregone conclusion, Ephram could see it more clearly in his head, believed in it more strongly. That was how witches worked, anyhow – image, ordain, manifest – and Ephram wondered if maybe Freddie knew that and was subtly working on helping Ephram’s own magic along. He wouldn’t put it past Freddie. He seemed to know something about everything.  
  
And something about everyone, possibly; Ephram grinned like a high-schooler hearing secrets as Freddie started to talk about who in town he’d been intimate with so far. “Elizabeth Bell?” he repeated, the name clicking in his head. “Skinny girl, bout yea high, looks at you like she’s a bank vault and you might could be a safe cracker? I met her, Freddie! And I yammered on about you for fuckin’ ages to her, oh Jesus.” Ephram certainly didn’t assume that everybody else had the same fluid idea of relationships that he and his partners shared, and especially considering how mum Elizabeth had been – to the point of feigning unfamiliarity with who Freddie was – he felt a surge of sick worry in his chest. “Christ, I hope I din’t fuck that up for you, honey.”  
  
He clasped Freddie’s hands tightly in apology, the gentle kiss and declaration of love that Freddie had delivered still lingering against his neck. “Lemme know if I messed up and if I can help fix it somehow.” Ephram decided to leave it at that. No point making a big deal unless Freddie thought it was a big deal. Instead he picked up the subject of the cards they’d found in the house, frowning in thought as he considered the impression he’d gotten of the deck. “They din’t feel ominous or dangerous or anything like that,” Ephram said. “I mean, they din’t feel, y’know, angelic or light, more a sense of … the unknown. Like a limbo state. Hard to explain, but I know for sure it wasn’t evil. There was a card and a headdress for me, too -- the Prophet, it called me, and a pair of horns to go with."  
  
Ephram figured his explanation had cleared the matter up (as much as it could be), so he was confused as to why Freddie was taking them somewhere out of the way. It wasn’t hidden enough to get up to anything sexy, so it had to be some other reason. And then Freddie started talking. Sounding the most halting and cautious than Ephram had heard him, even when he was up on that goddamn cross in ancient Rome. At first, Ephram thought that Freddie was gearing up to confess that he was wildly independently wealthy, and the witch was prepared to assure his lover that no, that wasn’t a problem, he wouldn’t feel weird about it if Freddie wanted to spend his money on him.  
  
But then Freddie kept going and ended up in a place that Ephram hadn’t seen coming. He knew thieves, had grown up with them, had done his own stints stealing back home in the holler. But this. “Freddie,” Ephram said finally, his voice faintly croaky, “when you say thief, you mean like … big-time thief, don’t you? Because you’re a con man, right, a con man wouldn’t waste his time on shit like drugs or iPhones or boosting cars or what have you. You’re like … a movie star thief.” He didn’t let go of Freddie’s hand, but Ephram raised his other one to violently rumple the back of his head until his blond hair was standing on end. “Do you do, uh, do you do the kind of thieving where you like, steal back paintings that the Nazis stole?” He looked at Freddie hopefully.  
  
At the hopeful look in Ephram’s eyes at the thought that Freddie might have some sort of righteous motivation behind his actions, the fairy felt his heart sink, and he sighed, shaking his head. “No, love,” he said, “-I’m afraid not. What I do, I do for entirely selfish reasons.”  
  
“I do it for the money, and the excitement, and because I’m very, very good at it.” He sighed again. “So yes, I suppose _big-time thief_ about sums it up.”  
  
“But I’ve never lied to you,” he said, “-and I won’t. I just-” Freddie cut himself off, not sure what else to say; how to explain.  
  
So he didn’t. “…I just want you to know that.”  
  
There were other questions that needed asking, he knew; other things that needed saying - about Elizabeth, about those crowns and cards, about the home that Ephram had offered and whether Freddie still had a place in it - but right now, here in the moment, there was only one that loomed large in his mind.  
  
Freddie looked down at their clasped hands, and then back up into Ephram’s eyes. “Are you very disappointed?” he asked softly, “That I’m not a better man?”  
  
 _Can you love me anyway?_  
  
“No, no,” Ephram shook his head, grabbing more firmly at Freddie’s hands, “I know you didn’t lie to me. That never crossed my …” He paused, gnawing on his lip. “Okay, maybe for a second just now. Because I believe you’re very very good at being a con man, with how smooth and smart and fuckin’ gorgeous you are.” Ephram moved a step closer to Freddie, so they were brushing against each other in places. “But only for a second. I don’t reckon you could fake all this, darlin’, what we got.”  
  
After a quick glance at the rest of the room, Ephram decided he didn’t care if anybody saw them and wrapped his arms around Freddie, one hand resting against the rise of his hip and the other moving along the firm, defined muscles in Freddie’s back. “I’m not disappointed,” he murmured, planting little kisses along Freddie’s hairline. “I love you just like you are, everything you are, Freddie, that ain’t ever gonna change. I mean fuck, you love me even though I got a goddamn demon in me!” Ephram laughed softly, nuzzling against his fairy’s hair. “Now how could I want you to be a better man, whatever _that_ means.”  
  
Now that he was getting over the surprise of finding out what Freddie did for a living, Ephram found that it was more and more appealing. It made so much sense! Why else would Freddie be the way he was, so instantly engaging and appealing? “God,” Ephram breathed, “I’m gonna be adding this to when I wanna spin some fantasies about you, honey. You being all James Bond.”  
  
Having gone into Ephram’s arms willingly, Freddie sagged against him when he was reassured that nothing had changed, and that nothing would change, huffing out a little gasping chuckle of relief against Ephram’s collarbone. “Oh thank Christ,” he murmured, smiling in spite of himself, “-because this is as good as I get, love.”  
  
He pulled himself back from Ephram’s chest just enough to look him in the eye again. “But I would have won you back, if I’d had to,” he said softly. “I _do_ love you, Ephram. Just letting you go isn’t something I’m prepared to accept.” He leaned up to press a lingering kiss to Ephram’s lips, and then smiled; a wicked gleam shining in his eyes as he looked around quickly, reaching for his witch’s belt.  
  
“Good God, Freddie,” Ephram said, taken aback at Freddie’s declaration. He gave an astonished, short laugh, shaking his head. “You can’t just say things like that to me, you rascal you. Makes me half tempted to act hard-to-get just so’s I can see the the lengths you’d go to for getting me back.” He could just imagine it, Freddie amping up that roguish appeal he had, the smooth handsome man with just enough of his polish scuffed off to make him that much more desirable. The kiss that Freddie planted on him turned Ephram’s attentions back to reality, and he mentally amended his imagination; there would be this, too, the sincerity of emotion in the way Freddie kissed him, touched him, talked to him.

“Oh, I try never to play fair if I can help it,” Freddie murmured, a teasing smile on his lips. “Care to play Bond yourself for a bit though, darling?” Freddie smirked, “Because Holly Goodhead’s got nothing on me…”  
  
He moved closer, his hands still on Ephram’s belt, fingers tucked inside the waistband of his jeans. “Do you think you could be quiet for me if I just got down on my knees right here?” he breathed, leaning up to let his lips brush against Ephram’s earlobe. “Or would you give us away?”  
  
He grinned. “Ruby told me all about what you two got up to at the carnival…”  
  
Ephram’s breathing picked up at the feel of Freddie’s fingers against his belly, his hips automatically tipping closer to the fairy as his warm, damp words shivered against Ephram’s ear and that clean scent of cologne made his mouth water. “No fair,” Ephram said, eyes already half closing, “I wanted to suck you off. But I reckon I’ll just have to put that off till later, huh, darlin’?”  
  
Raising his hands, Ephram curled them over Freddie’s shoulders, pushing him gently downwards. “You’re one of the best things to happen to me in my whole goddamn life, baby,” Ephram said, thumbs sliding up the sides of Freddie’s neck. “You might be a bigtime con man but hell, I’d rather have my beautiful fairy thief than any other man.”  
  
“-believe me, love, you’ll get your chance. I’m hard already, just thinking about it… I’ve missed your mouth.” Freddie smiled at Ephram’s words - warmed by them, preening and humbled all at once - and sank to his knees easily, encouraged by the press of his witch’s hands; leaning in to rub his face against rough denim, and letting out a low groan at the hardness he felt pushing back.  
  
Freddie’s eyes sparkled as he unbuckled Ephram’s belt, and unfastened his jeans. “Have I mentioned,” he asked quietly, looking up as he took Ephram’s cock out, stroking him slowly, and then dragging the head across his lips, “-that I’ve already been fantasizing about being under your desk while you conduct official Sheriff’s department business?”  
  
“Sucking your cock while you’re in uniform, deputies standing by, awaiting orders…”  
  
His breath hot and wet as it ghosted over Ephram’s skin, flicking his tongue over the slit, Freddie went on, “Knowing you’re in charge of everything, but that you’re entirely at my mercy because I can make you come - make you fall apart - whenever I like…”  
  
“Would you like that, sweetheart?” he breathed.  
  
And then, one hand holding tight to Ephram’s hip, the other wrapped around his witch’s cock, tugging slow and steady, Freddie took Ephram into his mouth, moaning at the taste of him.  
  
“Us Southern boys got syrup on our tongues,” Ephram purred, his fingers drifting as Freddie slipped down to his knees to wrap around the back of the fairy’s neck. He looked down when Freddie started talking again from down there, his cock pulsing in Freddie’s grip as the sticky head of it left a smear of wetness along that plush bottom lip. “You got a helluva imagination, Freddie honey,” Ephram said with a breathless laugh, leaning his shoulders back against the wall so he could slide one of his feet forward and toe gently against the side of Freddie’s folded knee. “Could talk me into just about anything with that voice of yours. You got a voice made for lovemaking, like my Aunt Raylene used to say.”  
  
Freddie’s hand landed on Ephram’s hip, steadying him and pinning him there, and Ephram bucked lightly against it to try and push deeper into Freddie’s warm, welcoming mouth. “I would,” Ephram gasped, then blinked rapidly as he tried to collect himself enough not to give away what they were doing. In a more normal but slightly jerky voice, he continued, “I would like that, yeah. I would love it. Keeping you there while I make phone calls and them deputies report to me, feeling that talented fuckin’ tongue of yours stroking along my cock and knowing you could undo me at any time.”  
  
Giving up on trying to direct the pace of Freddie’s clever mouth, Ephram let his chin drop to his chest so he could watch the sight of his rigid prick fucking past Freddie’s bee-stung lips, the way that his cheeks hollowed, and focus on the quiet suckling noises and moans that his fairy was making. “I like it,” Ephram said, somewhat hesitantly. “I like it when you’re in control of me. It feels good somehow, kinda … safe.” He blinked down at Freddie and added, “…but I don’t wanna … like, burden you with that if you’re not into it. I love you any which way.”  
  
Freddie bobbed his head in a steady rhythm, taking Ephram deep - liking the heavy weight of him on his tongue, the slight ache of his jaw, and the stretch of his lips around him - teasing the ridge on the underside every time he pulled back to suckle at the head; the taste of Ephram’s excitement making it harder to keep quiet himself than he’d anticipated.  
  
But he pulled off, still stroking, when Ephram’s voice started to sound more hesitant; less sure of himself, or of Freddie’s response. Freddie licked and kissed at Ephram’s cock, then looked up at his witch through his eyelashes, knowing his pupils had to be blown wide with lust, his lips red and wet, the strain of his hard prick through his trousers impossible not to see - and hoping none of that would undermine the sincerity of what he was about to say.  
  
“Ephram…I like it too, love,” Freddie said, his voice a little rough from the exertion of the cocksucking, breathy and raspy, “You could never _ever_ be a burden. Especially since you control me too, in your own way.”  
  
Freddie leaned in and pressed a kiss to Ephram’s hip. “I want to make you feel safe, darling,” he murmured, “Because you do the same for me. More than you know.”  
  
Moving back to Ephram’s cock, Freddie smiled. “Now,” he said, laving the head with his tongue, “-be a good boy and come in my mouth before we get caught, yeah? I want to lick you off my lips.”  
  
The care that Freddie took with his cock, the way he lavished attention on it with that satisfyingly artistic sluttiness (this was not an insult; Ephram found Freddie’s style of louche debauchery to be a perfect match with his own filthy rawness) made Ephram painfully aware of where they were and how quiet he had to keep, which of course made every little flick and suck and lick excruciatingly vivid.  
  
The doubt that he had wasn’t … well, he didn’t expect Freddie to say otherwise, but he was worried that Freddie would be fed up with the very particular neuroses that Ephram had. His stomach was tight with arousal and that helped muddy up the anxiousness, especially with how his fairy looked like that, dark-eyed and rosy-lipped, thick with desire as he gazed up at Ephram. His voice ruined around the edges from the salt and solidness of Ephram’s prick.  
  
Ephram ran his hand compulsively through Freddie’s hair as that lush mouth pressed against his hip – _right where the brand was going to be, did fairy dust make them psychic?_ the witch thought deliriously) and strained into the slick, rhythmic tunnel of Freddie’s hand. “Okay,” Ephram said. “Okay. Just one’a them fears that kick up, probably one account of me actually being in a relationship for the first time in twenty years.” He smiled loosely. “Lucky you, honey – you get to handle all the crazy worries I got about it.”  
  
There wasn’t any bitterness or wryness to the statement. Ephram was being completely sincere, grateful even, and it was all because of how smoothly Freddie handled him in every which way. Not just his psyche but – Jesus Lord – his body too. “Mutual control sounds good,” Ephram agreed with a slight hitch to his voice, “and keeping each other safe too.”  
  
Already keyed up and half-insensate, glittering desire doing curlicues through his muscles, Freddie’s command worked to impressive results. Ephram obeyed with a reedy, startled gasp as his cock jumped against the warm, wet coaxing of Freddie’s tongue and flooded that eager channel with spurts of ropy cum. Trying to keep himself from making more noise, Ephram crammed his fingers into his mouth, biting down on them as his knees sagged and his eyes screwed shut.  
  
Freddie moaned as Ephram gasped, his witch filling his mouth with warm, salty pulses of semen; and he held it there, thick on his tongue, for a moment, just savoring the unique flavor of the man he loved, before swallowing it down.  
  
He waited until he’d gotten every last drop, until he’d milked Ephram dry, and then pulled off, carefully licking him clean, and pressing one more little kiss to the head, before tucking him back into his jeans, getting to his feet and pressing close for a kiss, his lips sticky with Ephram’s spend.  
  
And as they kissed, deep and slow, Freddie murmured against Ephram’s lips, “Just so you know, love; I think I _am_ lucky. And I have nothing to compare this to, so anything you do, or say, or feel, is exactly what it should be, as far as I’m concerned.”  
  
He pulled back and gave Ephram a cheeky smirk. “I can handle anything you give me, darling. So you should give me everything you’ve got.”  
  
Ephram was still trying to get his breathing under control, dragging his fingers out of his mouth and down his bearded chin, coming to rest over his pounding heart as Freddie solicitously put him back in order. In true Freddie fashion, even that small ritual was an intoxicating blend of ownership and service, tender and triumphant at once. It was nothing that Ephram had ever experienced before. And it was only as their relationship unfolded gently that he even discovered that he’d been longing for this his whole life.  
  
And Freddie, he murmured much the same sentiments against Ephram’s mouth with the taste of him salting their tongues, drawing a deep thrill up Ephram’s spine. “So we’re on the same page,” Ephram declared, low and quiet, almost breathless with delight at the realization. “Good. I like that. And I like the idea of trying out ways to learn each other.” He grinned back, mirroring Freddie’s smirk, and drawled, “I’ll give you so much it’ll make your pretty head spin, darlin’. And I want you to teach me things. How to eat in a fancy restaurant and….” Ephram trailed off, then laughed, his fingers dancing trails up Freddie’s ribs. “I don’t even know! What else is all highfalutin’ that you could induct me into? I’m already looking forward to that suit fitting you promised.”  
  
The idea of people who loved him being the ones to foot the bill had never bothered Ephram; hell, it would’ve been what he did if he had money. And even thought he obviously would’ve loved Freddie if the fairy was penniless, Ephram couldn’t deny that Freddie’s wealth and tastes for the luxurious were sexy as fuck, how it made him seem like some sleek, pampered pleasure-god. Just thinking about it made heat start to rekindle deep inside him, and Ephram pushed one hand over Freddie’s head, grasping his hair, rubbing behind his ear, thumbing a corner of his jaw, scratching the base of his skull. “Kiss me again,” he demanded. “Like as if you was trying to get me to…” Ephram pondered for a moment, and settled on, “…open up the safe where I keep one’a them upside-down plane stamps.”  
  
“Oh, sweetheart,” Freddie chuckled softly, still pressed close, just enjoying having Ephram’s hands on him; his smell, and the gentle warmth of his breath, “-I’ll teach you anything you like. About wine, and art, and anything else you can think of.” He grinned, “And I’m definitely going to buy you that suit. Maybe more than one, actually. I rather like the idea of dressing you up…”  
  
His eyes sparkled. “One day, love, I’ll take you to Savile Row, and buy you something ridiculously wonderful - but until then, we’ll just have to make do with the best Soapberry has to offer.”  
  
Just the thought of taking Ephram away with him, of being able to show him something new from his part of the world, made Freddie happier than he could properly express. And when Ephram demanded another kiss a moment later, the fairy found himself very eager to oblige.  
  
Which wasn’t exactly new where Ephram was concerned, but still.  
  
“Well…” Freddie said, wetting his lips, just a little, and rubbing himself just slightly against Ephram’s hip, “-if you were sitting on an Inverted Jenny, I suppose I’d have to kiss you like this…” He closed the short amount of distance between them, and licked his way into his witch’s mouth, kissing him soft and slow at first, and then more urgently. Sucking Ephram’s bottom lip gently, he tugged at it with his teeth, and then pressed hungrily forward again, only to yield once he got there, enticing Ephram to plunder his own mouth in turn.  
  
And when he finally pulled back, breathless, Freddie grinned. “And of course, I’d be naked as well, so you have to take that into consideration…”  
  
“Inverted Jenny!” Ephram had just enough time to repeat, pleased, before Freddie was kissing him. In a way that was a little bit more pure coquette, an encouragement to lose himself in the sensual push-and-pull that Freddie was employing. “Lord Almighty,” Ephram said, leaning forward to drag his lips along Freddie’s again, “I’d give up and stick that stamp to your bare skin just so’s I could lick it onto you.”  
  
He wrapped his arms around Freddie, jerking him close in one rough pull and then holding him there, kissing him gently. “I mean hell, Freddie,” Ephram murmured, “you’re the most priceless thing I could own.”


End file.
